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Reproducing my damaged backglasses

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Big Phil said:
On UKVAC, I'm actually trying to get reproduction glass sets printed. I may also be able to help out here. Print onto the glass and then get a white vinyl backing applied They can't print white you see.

Here are a couple of images: -

View attachment 7297
View attachment 7300
Click to expand...


when I made my Ramones plastics I sprayed matt white on the back of the plastic
Why not print direct to plastic(I know thats possible)then spray matt white onto the back
 
The white spray method Poi mentions works really well. I copied his method when I had to make a repro shooter cover for my R&B and it came out almost imperceptible from an original.
 
Yup, that can be done. But not by the company printing onto the glass. That would have to be done by yourself. They would, however, back it with the white vinyl.

Surely white vinyl would be more resistant to scratching?
 
I'd have thought it would Phil, but of course with paint you could at least apply multiple coats to make it more resilient.

Just out of interest could you ask the company you're talking to about the possibilities of printing onto a mirror instead? Surely the principals would be similar but without the need for a backing?
 
Wiredworm said:
Just out of interest could you ask the company you're talking to about the possibilities of printing onto a mirror instead? Surely the principals would be similar but without the need for a backing?
Click to expand...

I think I can answer this without talking to them. It's just like printing onto the glass but the print would be on the front instead of the back. It wouldn't be safe from scratching/damage. It's just a very thin layer of ink, just like printing onto paper. Essentially, the printer is just a giant ink jet printer.

That's if I've understood your question correctly.
 
But could the front image not then be sealed with some kind of lacquer or even clear vinyl maybe?

Just thinking of possibilities for making a repro R&B backglass. (or back mirror to be more precise).
 
If it was printed on the front you would get the mirrored lines as per original but instead of seeing rocky pull something out of the hat you would see the player.
 
Good point Mooseman; i'd totally forgotten that the entire thing isn't mirrored. There's a huge section in the middle which is left clear to allow the hat trick animation to be visible.

Doh!!
 
U could allways spray the back (where it's mirrored) with something like the highly metalic silver plastikoat do saw some in wikis that's like mirror finish
 
Thanks for the suggestion Rudi. I might well investigate the options on this :-)

I think it's safe that finding a NOS backglass for a R&B is almost impossible - so the plan will either be a patch up on my scratched one or making my own repro.
 
Wiredworm said:
Thanks for the suggestion Rudi. I might well investigate the options on this :)

I think it's safe that finding a NOS backglass for a R&B is almost impossible - so the plan will either be a patch up on my scratched one or making my own repro.
Click to expand...
Never say never in this hobby even the impossible can turn up.
 
I need the luck of Firebrand from Pinside. He managed to not only grab the return ramp I had my eye on in Norway but found a full set of NOS plastics for an R&B.

Lucky beggar.
 
Here is the latest on the Teacher's Pet artwork. Now on to the Flash one........

teachers_pet_screenshot4.jpg
 
Teachers Pet is nearly ready and the Flash is coming along nicely. I have found that matching the colours in Photoshop is not easy! It seems a lot easier in Illustrator so will probably use that for any other backglasses we decide to do.

Here is where we are so far.....

teachers_pet_backglass_redraw6.jpg

flash_screenshot3.jpg

Paul
 
Quick report so far...
I spoke to the signmaker on Friday and the best way to reproduce these is to print them onto a clear film first and then print the white layer. This will give the translucency we need. We then print the lightsafe mask and apply directly to the glass. He assures me that this should be robust enough for handling for maintenance of the backbox etc.
The main issue now is trying to match the colours. Both the originals are silk screened and I am trying to match the ink colours using a CMYK mix. We tried using a Pantone 'Solid to Process' book which is OK for colours in the blue/green range, but reds are more difficult and orange is a nightmare!

To see how we were doing so far, the signmaker printed two A4 sections of both backglasses for me onto the vinyl so I could see how the colours came out. The artwork for Flash, which was produced in Illustrator, was almost spot on. The Teacher's Pet which was done in Photoshop was not so close. This means I have to change the colours in Photoshop which is not so easy as it would be in a 'proper' graphics package like Illustrator.

All in all, we are pleased about how they have come out so far but the consensus this end is that it is possible to produce your backglass in Photoshop, but Illustrator is faster and easier.
 
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We tried that. The quality just was not up to it. Anyway, it's more fun redrawing it.....
 
I think what Rudi means is import your photoshop image into Illustrator and then you can change the colours etc much easier

I have done similar before to convert images i've produced in PS into vectors for scalling up etc
 
Oh I see! Sorry Rudi....
Yes, could try that but our main problem is that the colours we see on the screen are not necessarily those which come out of the printer!
I have tried to match the colours on both Mac and PC, on screens which have been calibrated and screens which haven't.

I will import the PS file into Illustrator and let you know how I get on....

Thanks for the suggestions......
 
The flash artwork is now nearly complete. All we have left is to finish all the black dots, the black areas on the clouds and a general tidy up before we move the text onto the proper levels before printing.



flash_screenshot5.jpg
 
Looks awesome. Really inspiring me to get my ass in gear and sort my backglass and cabinet artwork out.
 
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